Big 12 Tournament Update

It’s been an interesting first two days of the 2017 Big 12 Tournament. Top seeds Texas Tech and TCU both lost their first games to Oklahoma State and Kansas respectively and neither of them looked like the teams we have been accustomed to seeing over the last 4 months.

The lost to Oklahoma State shouldn’t be that much of a shocker to most Red Raider fans. The Cowboys are just a team that Tech seems to not match up well against. Whatever the reason for that I’m not sure. Oklahoma State took two of three from Tech in Lubbock earlier this year and did it in relatively dominant fashion, so the first round matchup with OSU was definitely concerning. The Cowboys did just what Tech fans should have feared... shutting down the vaunted Tech offense with a shutout. Texas Tech had only been shut out one other time this year and that was a 9-0 loss to Texas A&M in the Shriner’s Classic and have been putting up crooked numbers up ever since.

Some good news did come out of Game 1 however, as Davis Martin returned for the first time since he was shut down with tendinitis almost two months to the day. Martin, understandably, was a bit rusty and didn’t quite have the command we are used to seeing out of him. And while, some would point to Martin only completing 3 and ¹⁄₃ innings of work, it was clear that he was on a pitch count and Tadlock was very careful with a pitcher Tech will need if it hopes to go deep into the postseason.

In Game 2, Texas Tech was in an elimination game with Baylor where they rebounded, as they have so many times this year, with a 5-1 victory and thus eliminating the Bears. The saving grace in Game 2 was the find work by Tech ace, Steven Gingery who pitched six innings of shut out ball to earn his 9th win of the season.

Game 3 has Tech in another elimination game, this time against West Virginia. That game is scheduled for 3:15pm on Fox Southwest Plus or Fox College Sports.

Updated Bracket:
Wednesday May 24th
Game 1: #4 WV 11 vs #5 Baylor 1
Game 2: #1 TTU 0 vs #8 OSU 3
Game 3: #2 TCU 3 vs #7 KU 7
Game 4: #3 OU 4 vs #6 UT 8

Thursday May 25th
Game 5: #5 Baylor 1 vs #1 TTU 4 (Baylor eliminated)
Game 6: #2 TCU 9 vs #3 OU 4 (OU eliminated)
Game 7: #4 West Virginia 4 vs #8 OSU 8
Game 8: #7 KU 4 vs #6 UT 5

Friday May 26th
Game 9: #4 West Virginia vs #1 TTU - 3:15 pm
Game 10: #7 Kansas vs #2 TCU - 7:30 pm

Saturday May 27th
Game 11: #8 Oklahoma St vs G9 Winner - 9:00am
Game 12: #6 Texas vs G10 Winner - 12:30 pm
Game 13: G11 Winner vs G11 Loser - 4:30 pm (only necessary if G9 Winner wins G11)

In other news, Tim Tadlock has mentioned that he does not expect starting 2nd Baseman, Michael Davis to be back with the team this year as he deals with an unidentified family situation. We wish Michael the best and hopefully he can return before the season ends, but if not definitely next season.

The Air Raid Podcast will be baseball heavy again this week and will be recorded tonight. If you have any questions about the tournament or the game, leave it in the comments and we’ll discuss it. Should be a good one.